Wiring for residential and light commercial construction in North America typically is a non-metallic sheathed cable. In such sheathed cable, an outer non-metallic sheath, generally formed from an electrically-insulating polyvinyl chloride material, surrounds multiple individual conductors, which are insulated from each other by insulation covering the individual conductors. One type of non-metallic sheathed cable includes two current-carrying conductors with individual insulation and an uninsulated or bare ground wire. For commercial construction other than light commercial construction, the current-carrying conductors and the ground wire all have individual conductor insulation and are typically protected from damage by being installed in a metal conduit or a rigid plastic conduit, rather than having a non-metallic outer sheath
Electricians using sheathed cable on a construction site need to be able to cut the outer sheath and strip a length of the outer sheath from the individual conductors without cutting, nicking, or otherwise damaging the individual conductors or the insulation for the individual conductors. In addition, after removing the outer sheath, the electricians need to be able to cut the insulation on the individual conductors and strip a length of insulation from each individual conductor without cutting, nicking, or otherwise damaging the individual conductors. Further, after removing the insulation from the individual conductors, the now-bare conductors and any ground wire need to be cut to an appropriate length for connection to an electrical outlet, junction box, or other electrical device. Similar considerations affect the use of conductors that have individual conductor insulation but that are not surrounded by an outer sheath.
Wire strippers or cutters for individual use (hand tools) are typically constructed to perform one task, such as cutting and stripping the outer sheath, at a time. A hand tool that could perform multiple tasks substantially simultaneously without moving or repositioning a length of sheathed cable or adjacent lengths of separate conductors would save time and effort for electricians.